ArLlcle

12






!"#$$%&' ! # $%&'(&)#*+% ,-./0
1an[a Crnlng
norweglan Academy of Muslc


A8S18AC1: 1hls arLlcle examlnes PelmuL Lachenmann's groundbreaklng work, ltessloo,
for solo cello (1969). lLs cenLral quesLlon ls how Lo undersLand ltessloo: noL as a work
(self-) conLalned ln a score, buL as a llve ob[ecL, as performance, acLlon and embodlmenL.
ltessloo ls one of Lachenmann's flrsL works lnLroduclng Lhe concepL of moslpoe cooctte
losttomeotole, muslc LhaL emphaslzes Lhe way sound ls produced raLher Lhan how lL
should be heard, Lhus reverslng LradlLlonal hlerarchles. 1hls new muslcal aesLheLlc
employlng performaLlve energy as composlLlonal maLerlal requlres an analyLlcal approach
LhaL corresponds Lo Lhe naLure and demands of Lhe muslc. My analysls Lhus draws
prlmarlly upon perspecLlves from Lhe fleld of performance sLudles uslng Lrlka llscher-
LlchLe's concepL ootopoletlc feeJbock loop Lo descrlbe Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween
performer and audlence and petceptool moltlstoblllty Lo descrlbe LhaL beLween
performance and score. l dlscuss Lhe ptesctlptlve oototloo used ln ltessloo, whlch
presenLs acLlons and gesLures as muslcal maLerlal alLhough Lhelr prlmary purpose ls noL
Lo produce sound. l address some lmporLanL onLologlcal lmpllcaLlons of Lhe challenge
presenLed by ltessloo Lo Lhe noLlon of Lhe work-concepL. ln shorL, l use ltessloo as a case
sLudy for Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon of noLaLlonal, embodled, gesLural and llmlnal aspecLs of
performance. 1hroughouL Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon, l draw on my own experlence as a celllsL who
has performed Lhe plece.

kL? WC8uS: Cello, Lachenmann, performance, wetktteoe, ptesctlptlve oototloo, gesLure



Am Aofooq wot Jle 1ot (CoeLhe's lausL, arL l, 1808).

ltessloo (LranslaLed as ltessote) for solo cello by PelmuL Lachenmann (1969)
unquesLlonably llves up Lo lLs LlLle: ln Lhls plece Lhe performer ls asked Lo squeeze, press,
[erk, sllde, hlL and sLroke varlous parLs of Lhe lnsLrumenL and Lhe bow. 8aLher Lhan
Muslc erformance 8esearch
CopyrlghL 2012
8oyal norLhern College of Muslc
vol. 3, lncludlng
CMC / Sn Speclal lssue
12-31
lSSn 1733-9219


ArLlcle

13
funcLlonlng ln a LradlLlonal way, Lhe score maps Lhe acLlons of Lhe performer. ltessloo ls one
of Lachenmann's flrsL works ln Lhe sLyle he calls moslpoe cooctte losttomeotole,
1
an
aesLheLlc dlrecLlon LhaL, by uslng LradlLlonal lnsLrumenLs ln non-LradlLlonal ways, avolds
classlcal hlerarchlcal sLrucLures such as prlorlLlzlng work over performance and
composlLlonal LradlLlons over pure sound. 1hls new muslcal aesLheLlc calls for a new
analyLlcal approach correspondlng Lo Lhe naLure and demands of Lhe muslc. My analysls wlll
Lhus prlmarlly draw upon perspecLlves from Lhe fleld of performance sLudles. 1he cenLral
quesLlon addressed ln Lhls arLlcle ls how Lo undersLand ltessloo: noL as a work (self-)
conLalned ln a score, buL as a llve ob[ecL: as performance, acLlon and embodlmenL.
My flrsL encounLer wlLh ltessloo ln performance lmmedlaLely Lransformed my
percepLlon of muslcal aesLheLlcs. ln 1989, PelmuL Lachenmann came Lo Lhe norweglan
Academy of Muslc. A sLudenL had agreed Lo perform ltessloo ln a masLer class wlLh
Lachenmann. 1he performance was curlously beauLlful, lf also very sLrange: were Lhese
whlsperlng, grlndlng, crushlng and squeaklng sounds muslc? 1hls work appeared Lo presenL
sound producLlon ln every posslble way on Lhe cello, every way, LhaL ls, excepL Lhe cenLral
one we had been LaughL Lo belleve was normal: wlLh Lhe bow on Lhe sLrlng, produclng a
beauLlful Lone. Cnly one noLe, sLandlng ouL ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe plece, was bowed ln Lhe
convenLlonal manner, and ln Lhls conLexL lL became someLhlng compleLely new and fresh. ln
Lhe course of Lhls slngle performance, my percepLlon of whaL consLlLuLed muslc had been
dramaLlcally changed.
My lnvesLlgaLlon wlll begln by reflecLlng on Lhe hlghly orlglnal and ldlosyncraLlc noLaLlon
of acLlons used ln ltessloo, known as octloo oototloo or (Lo use Lhe more esLabllshed Lerm)
ptesctlptlve oototloo (Seeger, 1938, kanno, 2007) Lo dlsLlngulsh lL from Jesctlptlve oototloo
(oLherwlse known as LradlLlonal noLaLlon), whlch descrlbes Lhe lnLended soundlng resulL. l
wlll Lhen look aL Lhe slgnlflcance of gesLures presenLed as muslcal maLerlal even Lhough
Lhelr prlmary purpose ls noL Lo produce an audlble ouLcome. l wlll explore Lhe relaLlonshlps
beLween performer and audlence, and performance and score respecLlvely, uslng concepLs
lnLroduced by Lhe LheaLre sLudles scholar Lrlka llsher-LlchLe: ootopoletlc feeJbock loop and
petceptool moltlstoblllty. 1hese wlll be lllusLraLed by my own experlences of performlng
ltessloo. 8efore examlnlng lLs performaLlve aspecLs, l wlll look aL Lhe hlsLorlcal conLexL of
ltessloo and conslder some lmporLanL onLologlcal lmpllcaLlons of Lhe challenge lL presenLs
Lo Lhe noLlon of Lhe work-concepL.
My lnvesLlgaLlon of ltessloo lnvolves boLh stoJyloq and eoqoqloq lo performance. l
move from pracLlce Lo Lheory and from Lheory Lo pracLlce, noL leasL because of Lhe
lmporLance of remalnlng aware of my own sLance ln Lhls research. My sLudy ls Lhus besL
descrlbed as pracLlce-based research: research seeklng new knowledge Lhrough pracLlce. ln
concluslon l wlll dlscuss Lhe exLenL Lo whlch Lhls approach has glven us new knowledge
abouL ltessloo and has furLher purpose and poLenLlal for developmenL ln slmllar conLexLs.
1hls arLlcle ls parL of a larger pro[ecL ln whlch l seek Lo formulaLe a performance pracLlce
for posL-1930 cello muslc by performlng and analyslng cenLral and groundbreaklng works by
PelmuL Lachenmann, klaus k. Publer and MorLon leldman.
2


1
1he composer lnLroduced Lhe Lerm (ln Cerman, losttomeotoleo Moslpoe cooctte) ln hls brlef accounL of
ltessloo flrsL publlshed ln 1972 (Lachenmann, 1996). MosL people now refer Lo Lhls aesLheLlc as moslpoe
cooctte losttomeotole, even Lhe composer hlmself (PeaLhcoLe, 2010).
2
l am currenLly a hu researcher aL Lhe norweglan Academy of Muslc where l anLlclpaLe submlLLlng my

ArLlcle

14
1%2).- 3#+4%*)#** #*/ )*$%+*# ,&',"-.# %'$."*)#'./0#
PelmuL Lachenmann (b. 1933) ls one of Lhe mosL radlcal and lnnovaLlve composers of Lhe
posL-war generaLlon ln Cermany. AfLer sLudylng wlLh Lulgl nono and explorlng serlallsm, he
developed a dlsLlncLlve personal sLyle as he Lrled Lo lnvenL whaL muslc could be" Lhrough
empLylng" whaL he already knows (Lachenmann, 2008: ln Lhls conversaLlon he was playlng
wlLh Lhe Cerman words for Leachlng [lebteo] and empLylng [leeteo]). ln Lhls process, he
found a new expresslvlLy, a new beauLy, whlch he problemaLlzes ln hls essay 1be 8eootlfol lo
Moslc 1oJoy:
LxcepL for Lulgl nono, leadlng composers of yesLerday have exhausLed Lhelr resources .
1hey are celebraLlng Lhe comeback of Lhe bourgeols concepL of beauLy . a form slckenlng
Lo anyone who sees ln arL - or ln beauLy - more Lhan [usL a masquerade (Lachenmann,
1980, p. 21).
3

Pe ls hlghly amblvalenL abouL LradlLlon: several of hls works engage wlLh hlsLorlcal
elemenLs, yeL aL Lhe same Llme he reformulaLes hls sLyle and renews lL ln an unequalled
manner, developlng a personal aesLheLlc Lhrough Lhe laLe 1960s.
4
ltessloo was composed ln
1969 followlng temA (1968) for fluLe, volce and cello, and lL ls Lhe flrsL work LhaL Lhoroughly
explored hls orlglnal aesLheLlc ldeas Lhrough new lnsLrumenLal Lechnlques. ltessloo ls parL
of a serles of Lhree works - Lhe oLher Lwo belng uol oleote (lottleot lll) (1970) for clarlneL,
and Coeto (1970) for plano - ln whlch Lhls composlLlonal dlrecLlon was furLher culLlvaLed,
esLabllshlng someLhlng radlcally new LhaL would have a sLrong lmpacL on Lhe composlng
world and also become a source of conLroversy.
3
Lachenmann named Lhls new dlrecLlon
moslpoe cooctte losttomeotole. AbouL ltessloo he says:
ln Lhls sorL of plece lL ls common for sound phenomena Lo be so reflned and organlsed
LhaL Lhey are noL so much Lhe resulLs of muslcal experlences as of Lhelr own acousLlc
aLLrlbuLes. 1lmbres, dynamlcs and so on arlse noL of Lhelr own vollLlon buL as componenLs
of a concreLe slLuaLlon characLerlsed by LexLure, conslsLency, energy, and reslsLance. 1hls
does noL come from wlLhln buL from a llberaLed composlLlonal Lechnlque. AL Lhe same
Llme lL lmplles LhaL our cusLomary sharp-honed audlLory hablL ls LhwarLed. 1he resulL ls
aesLheLlc provocaLlon: beauLy denylng hablL (Lachenmann, 1970).
1he producLlon and Lhe mechanlcal properLles of a sound are valued above Lhe sound
lLself. Long-esLabllshed lnsLrumenLal performance pracLlce ls lefL behlnd, and Lachenmann
culLlvaLes whaL had been regarded as exLra-muslcal sounds, mlsLakes, mlshaps and
accldenLs. Pe purlfles Lhe lmpure, and reflnes and deflnes a wlde range of nolses, drawlng,
ln endless varlaLlons, on subLle dlfferences of bow speed, bow pressure, angle of bow and
number of bow-halrs. ln Lachenmann's muslc Lhese sounds do noL appear merely as exLra-
muslcal sounds or exLended Lechnlques buL have become Lhe very sLrucLural foundaLlons of
hls composlLlon. 1he Lechnlques, ln shorL, are noL opLlonal when playlng Lhe muslc - Lhey
are Lhe muslc. Cne could noL, for lnsLance, Lranscrlbe Lachenmann's Lhree sLrlng quarLeLs
for plano four hands, Lhe muslc would slmply dlsappear" (Alberman, 2003, p. 48).
6
1he

dlsserLaLlon New Moslc - New celllst? ln 2013.
3
1he orlglnal, 2om ltoblem Jes moslkollscb 5cbooeo beote, can be found ln Lachenmann (1996). 1he LlLle
paraphrases Pansllck's LreaLlse vom Moslkollscb-5cbooeo (1be beootlfol lo moslc).
4
See ace (1998) for an excellenL accounL of Lachenmann's oeuvre and poslLlon.
3
Penze (1983) crlLlclzed Lachenmann's work for belng muslca negaLlva" (pp. 343-346).
6
neverLheless Mlke Svoboda has prepared a verslon of ltessloo for Lrombone (see

ArLlcle

13
acLual playlng of Lhe lnsLrumenL, Lhe lnsLrumenLal pracLlce, has become Lhe composlLlonal
maLerlal. 1hls can be seen as an exLreme ldlomaLlc approach, beyond Lhe lnsLrumenLal
ldlomaLlc vlrLuoslLy, exLended Lo encompass Lhe speclflc lnsLrumenL and muslclan's acLlons
ln Lhe momenL of performance. WhaL mlghL come as a surprlse ln Lhls conLexL ls Lhe form of
resslon, whlch appears Lo use a LradlLlonal sLrucLure wlLh recurrlng elemenLs, Lhemes and
moLlves.
7

Lachenmann's moslpoe cooctte losttomeotole was lnsplred by Lhe Lechnlque and
approach of lerre Schaeffer's moslpoe cooctte ln lrance, whlch had emerged ln 1948 as
parL of a new approach Lo composlLlon. ln conLrasL wlLh Lhe LradlLlonal process where Lhe
absLracL muslcal ldea was represenLed ln an absLracL score whlch was Lhen manlfesLed ln
concreLe sound Lhrough performance, moslpoe cooctte Look whaL was 'concreLe'
(recorded sound) and sub[ecLed lL Lo a process of absLracLlon. Schaeffer's approach made
Lhe sound lLself Lhe polnL of deparLure by chooslng real sounds, exlsLlng ln Lhe world,
collecLlng, classlfylng and recordlng Lhem and Lhus maklng Lhem objets moslcoox. lrom Lhe
core properLles of concreLe sounds, he would Lhen bulld sLrucLures lnLo a work, Lhus
reverslng Lhe LradlLlonal process of composlLlon.
new elecLronlc Lechnology presenLed Schaeffer wlLh Lools Lo conLrol sound
parameLers such as dynamlcs, Llmbre, duraLlon and plLch. Pavlng fulfllled hls asplraLlon Lo
creaLe a new genre he expressed hls scepLlclsm ln regard Lo Lhe Cerman classlcal LradlLlon
Lhus: .afLer Lhe war, ln Lhe '43 Lo '48 perlod, we had drlven back Lhe Cerman lnvaslon buL
we hadn'L drlven back Lhe lnvaslon of AusLrlan muslc, 12-Lone muslc" (Podgklnson, 1987).
lnsplred by Schaeffer's ldeas, Lachenmann adapLed hls Lechnlque for use noL wlLh
elecLronlc objets moslcoox buL wlLh acousLlc lnsLrumenLs. Pe developed a rlch paleLLe of
sounds, many of Lhem physlcal and almosL mechanlcal sounds slmllar Lo Schaeffer's real-
world sounds. ln ltessloo, he uses scordaLura (Lhe cello ls Luned from Lop down Lo l, u flaL,
C and A flaL) Lo prevenL Lhe open sLrlngs rlnglng ln Lhe famlllar flfLhs, whlch effecLlvely kllls
off mosL of Lhe LradlLlonal overLones buL aL Lhe same Llme offers new Lone-comblnaLlons.
Lachenmann says: .composlng muslc means lnvenLlng an lmaglnary 'lnsLrumenL' and
showlng lL Lhrough an excluslve and noL so easlly repeaLable conLexL" (quoLed by PeaLhcoLe,
2010, p. 348). lor each composlLlon he 'bullds' an lnsLrumenL from scraLch. Pe uses MorLon
leldman's plece 1be vlolo lo my llfe as an example: every plece should be Lhe cello (Lhe
plano, Lhe vlolln eLc.) ln my llfe" (Lachenmann, 2008).

ln ltessloo Lhe cello as Lhe sound
source we know ls ellmlnaLed, so Lhe cello as a LradlLlonal lnsLrumenL wlLh all lLs
connoLaLlons and hlsLory ls on one level erased Lhrough Lhls composlLlonal meLhod. ln Lhls
respecL, we can say LhaL Lachenmann has llberaLed noL only Lhe sounds, buL also Lhe
lnsLrumenL and Lhe performer from Lhe welghL of Lhe hlsLory of Lhe cello.
8
Cn Lhe one hand,
Lhls can be seen as a sLraLegy slmllar Lo Schaeffer's absLracLlon of Lhe sound source ln order
Lo creaLe someLhlng new. Cn Lhe oLher hand, Lhe core of Lachenmann's approach ln hls

hLLp://www.mlkesvoboda.neL/composlLlons-all/arLlcles/presslon.hLml).
7
l wlll refraln from sLrucLural analysls as Lhere are Lwo excellenL analyses of ltessloo by !ahn (1988) and Mosh
(2006).
8
lf Lachenmann has noL erased LhaL hlsLory enLlrely, he has aL leasL negaLed lL, even lf lL sLlll appears
exLremely clearly ln many of hls works. lor example, ln Accooto, hls clarlneL concerLo, a recordlng of MozarL's
ClarlneL ConcerLo ls Lo be played very sofLly ln Lhe background LhroughouL Lhe performance. AnoLher example
ls 5toob, an orchesLral plece commenLlng on 8eeLhoven's 9Lh Symphony.

ArLlcle

16
moslpoe cooctte losttomeotole ls Lhe acLual revelaLlon of Lhe sound source - Lhe very
maLerlal quallLles and physlcal energles of Lhe sound. 1haL source ls Lhe lnsLrumenL lLself,
and Lhe quallLles of Lhe sound resulL from Lhe maLerlal confllcL beLween cello, bow, wood
and sLrlngs. 1he acL of performlng wlLh all Lhe physlcal aLLrlbuLes and energles of Lhe
performer now consLlLuLes Lhe maLerlal of Lhe work.
1hls new aesLheLlc dlrecLlon represenLs a reversal of LradlLlonal hlerarchles on Lwo
levels, by emphaslzlng Lhe lmporLance of Lhe resulLlng sound phenomena over Lhe sound
source, and prlorlLlzlng Lhe performance over Lhe muslcal LexL. 8y organlzlng Lhe
lnsLrumenLal sound producLlon and maLerlal ln Lhls manner, Lachenmann shlfLs Lhe focus
from Lhe score as muslcal LexL Lo Lhe acLlon embodled ln performance. 1hls shlfL ln
composlLlonal focus calls for a complemenLary shlfL ln analyLlcal focus. And Lhe focus on Lhe
acL of performance lends lLself Lo an analysls grounded ln performance Lheory.
5(&6 #*/ $%&'(&)#*+% 78-48* -4% 1#"2&")/.%3# .*"'
1he emergence of performance Lheory and performance sLudles ls lnLerwoven wlLh Lhe so-
called petfotmotlve toto ln Lhe arLs, when, for example, LexLual Lheory was replaced by
performaLlve aesLheLlcs. lL emerged from avanL-garde and experlmenLal performance such
as Lhe acLlon palnLlng LhaL characLerlses !ackson ollock's pracLlce LhroughouL mosL of hls
laLer career. AnoLher example ls !ohn Cage's uotltleJ veot (1932) whlch dlssolves Lhe work
as arLefacL. 1he performance lLself becomes Lhe ob[ecL of sLudy, and scholars have Lo
negoLlaLe concepLs such as embodlmenL, acLlon, behavlour, agency and perhaps mosL of all:
llveness.
1he performaLlve Lurn acknowledged Lhe soclal consLrucLlon of reallLy Lhrough Lhe
suggesLlon LhaL all human pracLlces are performed and led Lo Lhe replacemenL of
essenLlallsL concepLlons by a more dynamlc undersLandlng of Lhe arL work:
Some call Lhls a verlLable shlfL of paradlgm ln Lhe hlsLory of humanlLles - from semloLlcs
Lo llngulsLlc performance (AusLln, Searle), from sLrucLurallsL Lo performaLlve poeLlcs
(uerrlda, lelman, Plllls Mlller), from LexLual Lheory Lo performaLlve aesLheLlcs (llscher-
LlchLe, Schechner) and from blologlcal Lo performaLlve Lheorles of gender ldenLlLy (8uLler)
(Culdbrandsen, 2006, pp. 140-141).
ln oLher words, a processual approach began Lo be Laken. 1he work ls no longer flxed and
sLable, buL eluslve: lL Lakes on dlfferenL Lemporal aspecLs as one looks aL lLs behavlour
raLher Lhan lLs permanenL and sLrucLural quallLles. 1he work formerly vlewed as an ob[ecL ls
now seen ln Lerms of a relaLlonal lnLerplay beLween mulLlple agenLs lncludlng performance,
performer, work, maker, performance space and audlence. 1he performaLlve Lurn ln
muslcology has been Lheorlzed by a number of muslcologlsLs and phllosophers, such as
8lchard 1aruskln (1993), !onaLhan uunsby (1993), eLer klvy (1993), Lydla Coehr (1992,
1998), SLan Codlovlch (1998), nlcolas Cook (2003) and Lrllng Culdbrandsen (2006), among
oLhers. 1hey have, ln Lhelr dlfferenL ways, opened up Lhe fleld. 1he dlscusslon has been
polarlzed aL Llmes, wlLh vlews of Lhe score as Lhe pure ob[ecL on one slde and Lhe
performance or Lhe performer belng lndependenL of Lhe score on Lhe oLher. l wlll noL cover
Lhe dlscusslon fully here, buL wlll merely ouLllne some lmporLanL poslLlons and look brlefly
aL Lhe Lerm wetktteoe.
We have Lo conslder some lmporLanL lssues LhaL emerge from Lhe performaLlve Lurn: lf
performance sLudles represenLs a shlfL from someLhlng LhaL ls Lo someLhlng LhaL allows us

ArLlcle

17
Lo do - a Lurn from essence Lo appearance: Lhe manlfesLaLlon of Lhe performance as ob[ecL
- Lhen Lhls affecLs Lhe eplsLemology of muslcology: Lhe analysls of Lhe prlnclples and
procedures of lnqulry lnLo muslc as a dlsclpllne.
1he lnvesLlgaLlon of muslc as acLlon and performance requlres a dlfferenL seL of
perspecLlves and Lools from LhaL needed for a LradlLlonal LexLual analysls. 1he hlsLorlcal
domlnance of knowlng over dolng ln muslcology slnce Lhe early 19Lh cenLury, LhaL ls, Lhe
prlorlLlzaLlon of LheoreLlcal models over deducLlon from performance pracLlce, produced
analysls predomlnanLly based on Lheory and LexL. Cur prlnclpal aLLlLudes Lo muslc and
performance are bullL hlerarchlcally lnLo our language. Crammar deplcLs a performance as
an appendlx Lo someLhlng: a performance of sometbloq. We can Lalk abouL '[usL playlng',
buL lL ls rare Lo speak of '[usL performlng' (Coehr, 1998, Cook, 2003). Language lnvlLes us Lo
speak of muslc ooJ lLs performance, wlLh muslc as Lhe sLable LexL and Lhe unsLable
performance as lLs reproducLlon. (l am, of course, wrlLlng abouL convenLlonally noLaLed
WesLern classlcal muslc, Lhls duallsm does noL apply Lo lmprovlsed or orally LransmlLLed
muslc for example.) now LhaL Lhe concepL of Lhe arLwork ls challenged, Lhe onLologlcal vlew
has Lo change wlLh lL:
1here no longer exlsLs a work of arL, lndependenL of lLs creaLor and reclplenL, lnsLead, we
are deallng wlLh an eveot LhaL lnvolves everybody - albelL Lo dlfferenL degrees and ln
dlfferenL capaclLles. lf 'producLlon' and 'recepLlon' occur aL Lhe same Llme and place, Lhls
renders Lhe parameLers developed for a dlsLlncL aesLheLlcs of producLlon, work and
recepLlon lneffecLual. AL Lhe very leasL we should re-examlne Lhelr sulLablllLy (llscher-
LlchLe, 2008, p.18).
llscher-LlchLe problemaLlzes Lhe way we sLrucLure Lhe parameLers of performance, and by
dolng so, consLrucL meanlng Lhrough Lhelr relaLlonshlps. She eradlcaLes Lhe boundarles
beLween Lhe maker, execuLor and reclplenL ln Lhe momenL of performance, and she names
Lhls as an eveot, whlch ls now glven lLs own slgnlflcance.
5%&6-&%.%
Slnce muslc began Lo be noLaLed, clearer dlsLlncLlons beLween Lhe work and lLs
performance, and beLween Lhe composer and performer, have emerged, represenLlng
mulLlfarlous vlews of Lhe role of Lhe performer. 1he Cerman Lerm wetktteoe denoLes Lhe
performer's fldellLy and loyalLy Lo Lhe orlglnal LexL. 1he concepL of Lhe work lLself ls cenLral
here, wlLh Lhe performance vlewed as secondary. ln Lhls realm Lhe composlLlon ls regarded
as fully compleLed prlor Lo performance, requlrlng Lhe flnlshed noLaLed score Lo be
lnLerpreLed falLhfully. 1he loyal performer becomes LransparenL or even lnvlslble as he or
she ls only a medlum for Lhe muslc: 1he secreL of perfecLlon lles above all ln (Lhe
performer's) consclousness of Lhe law lmposed on hlm by Lhe work he ls performlng"
(SLravlnsky, 1947, p. 127). ln Lhls conLexL, lL ls as Lhough all Lhe lnformaLlon Lhe performer
needs ls Lo be found ln Lhe score, so Lhere ls no need for an lndlvldual lnLerpreLaLlon, [usL an
execuLlon or a renderlng of whaL ls already Lhere.
AL Lhe oLher end of Lhe scale we see celebraLed performers who explolL Lhe works Lhey
are playlng ln order Lo show off Lhelr vlrLuoslLy and sklll. Coehr (1998) [uxLaposes Lhese Lwo
exLreme aLLlLudes, favourlng elLher work or performance: Lhe ldea of a petfect petfotmooce
of moslc ls ln favour of permanenLly exlsLlng works (works are lasLlng, buL noL
performances), sLresses Apollonlan ldeals (supporLlng sLrucLure and dlsclpllne) and

ArLlcle

18
emphaslzes wetktteoe.
9
1be petfect moslcol petfotmooce on Lhe oLher hand lncludes Lhe
ulonyslan ldeal of muslclanshlp lnvolved ln Lhe performance evenL belng open-ended and
sponLaneous. Powever, Coehr's asserLlon (shared by some muslcologlsLs) LhaL muslclans
began Lo Lake a more subservlenL role ln Lhe early elghLeenLh cenLury ls unsupporLed by
hlsLorlcal evldence, whlch makes wetktteoe more of a LheoreLlcal poslLlon Lhan a hlsLorlcal
one. erformers' vlews on LheoreLlcal and pracLlcal aspecLs of performance dlffer noLably.
lor example Lhe planlsL Alfred 8rendel, dlscusslng Lhe pedanLlc aura surroundlng Lhe word
wetktteoe, calls lL anLlquaLed. Pe wrlLes:
ln any case, Lhe proper meanlng of wetktteoe ls aL besL marglnal and suggesLlve,
1exttteoe by comparlson ls raLher more concreLe. . l have never consldered myself Lo be
merely Lhe passlve reclplenL of Lhe composer's commands, preferrlng Lo promoLe hls
cause of my own free wlll and ln my own way (8rendel, 2001, p. 30).
1hls lllusLraLes Lhe pragmaLlc relaLlonshlp LhaL performers have Lo Lhe LexL Lhey are worklng
on: Lhe score conLalns slgns LhaL have Lo be lnLerpreLed as Lhe lndlvldual chooses. 1he
planlsL Lelf Cve Andsnes regards hlmself as an acLor, wlLh each work offerlng hlm a dlfferenL
parL whlch he Lrles Lo brlng Lo llfe for Lhe audlence, .Lo personlfy Lhe composer's ldeas
Lhrough Lhe means he conslders sulLable, on an aesLheLlcal, Lechnlcal and personal level"
(kvalbeln, 2003, p. 178).
10
nlcholas Cook agrees: 1hlnklng of Lhe muslc as 'scrlpL' raLher
Lhan 'LexL' lmplles a reorlenLaLlon of Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween noLaLlon and performance"
(Cook, 2003, p. 206). lrom Lhls perspecLlve he proposes an acLlve horlzonLal vlew of
successlve lnLerpreLaLlons relaLlng Lo each oLher, deparLlng verLlcally from Lhe composer's
orlglnal ldeas and Lhe LexL. 1hls relaLlonal perspecLlve ls congruenL wlLh performance
pracLlce ln LhaL lL follows each work Lhrough lLs performers' lnLerpreLaLlons, whlch ln Lurn
lnevlLably lnfluence each oLher ln Loday's global muslcal communlLy. 1he performer's
everyday Lask of LranslaLlng Lhe score lnLo soundlng muslc necessarlly lncludes
lnLerpreLaLlve cholces however falLhfully he or she approaches Lhe score. 1he ldeal of belng
loyal Lo Lhe work and Lhe LexL ls, neverLheless, sLrongly allve Loday ln performers'
communlLles. ln my experlence Lhe lngralned respecL for Lhe work-concepL, for llvlng and
dead composers allke, preserves Lhe hlerarchy whlch places works above performance ln
WesLern classlcal muslc Loday.
We can also move Lhe focus away from Lhe work and Lhe performer onLo Lhe
performance as a producL ln lLself: ...we are ln possesslon, always, of two arLworks: Lhe
work of muslc, and, glven an ouLsLandlng or hlgh-quallLy performance, Lhe performance
(producL) lLself" (klvy, 1993, p. 278). klvy descrlbes Lhe performance as an arLwork ln lLself,
vlewed lndependenLly of Lhe LexL, whlch opens up Lhe role of Lhe performer, glvlng lL a new
and lmporLanL dlmenslon and Laklng lL Lo a new poslLlon.
ln connecLlon wlLh Lhls debaLe, Culdbrandsen remlnds us LhaL Lhese dlscusslons abouL
performaLlvlLy are based on meLhodologlcal caLegorles LhaL have clrculaLed for aL leasL Lhe
lasL Lwo cenLurles. Pe clalms LhaL caLegorles of performaLlvlLy are lmpllclL ln exlsLlng
concepLs of 'work', 'muslcal form', 'lnLerpreLaLlon', 'muslcal meanlng', 'aesLheLlc

9
1he noLlon of Lhe performance as someLhlng ephemeral LhaL exlsLs excluslvely ln real Llme has naLurally been
challenged by Lhe emergence of Lhe recordlng lndusLry. now, recorded performances are lnflnlLely repeaLable,
whlch opens up new posslblllLles and areas for lnvesLlgaLlon.
10
My LranslaLlon from norweglan.

ArLlcle

19
experlence', and 'LradlLlon' (all of whlch are formaLlve concepLs LhaL emerged ln
muslcologlcal Lhlnklng malnly Lhrough Lhe 19Lh cenLury)" (Culdbransen, 2006, p. 141). ln
sLudylng works and performance Lhey wlll always be lnLerdependenL on each oLher:
performances are necessarlly performances of works" (Coehr, 1998, p. 141).
9%&'(&)8*: 9&%,,8(*
8eLurnlng Lo Lhe cenLral quesLlon ln Lhls arLlcle, LhaL of how Lo analyse ltessloo, noL as a
work (self-) conLalned ln a score, buL as a llve ob[ecL, as performance, acLlon and
embodlmenL, l wlll flrsL examlne lLs ptesctlptlve oototloo.
!"#$$%&' #, ,+(&%; $&%,+&8$-8<% *(-#-8(*
upon openlng Lhe score of ltessloo, we are presenLed wlLh an lnvenLlon by Lachenmann
called a btlJqe clef (see llg. 1), whlch has been wldely adopLed by composers. 1he clef
deplcLs a map of Lhe cello, dlvldlng Lhe lnsLrumenL's performance-space lnLo Lhree parLs:
Lhe flngerboard and general area above Lhe brldge, a horlzonLal llne marklng Lhe brldge
lLself, and Lhen Lhe area below Lhe brldge. 1he perspecLlve ls LhaL of Lhe celllsL: Lhe Lallplece
ls aL Lhe Lop of Lhe drawlng. 1he brldge clef represenLs Lhe physlcal ouLllne of Lhe sLrlng
lnsLrumenL, offerlng Lhe performer an accuraLe locaLlon for acLlon by addlng varlous flgures
and symbols such as plcLures of bow and hands ln addlLlon Lo LradlLlonal noLaLlonal
symbols. 1he use of spaLlal noLaLlon wlLh an approxlmaLe croLcheL value of 66 beaLs per
mlnuLe wlLh occaslonal bar llnes glves a clear lndlcaLlon of Llme and rhyLhm. As menLloned
earller, Lhls meLhod of noLaLlon ls named ptesctlptlve or octloo oototloo and descrlbes Lhe
muslclan's acLlons or meLhods ln creaLlng sounds, as opposed Lo Jesctlptlve (l.e. LradlLlonal)
oototloo, whlch descrlbes Lhe soundlng resulL ln Lerms of parameLers such as plLch, rhyLhm,
dynamlcs and arLlculaLlon. 1he laLLer also conLalns several aspecLs of prescrlpLlveness, LhaL
ls, for example harmonlcs and noLaLlon ln scordaLura, so Lhere ls no clear dlvlslon llne.
Accordlng Lo Mleko kanno: .prescrlpLlve noLaLlon polnLs Lo a shlfL ln Lhe funcLlon of
noLaLlon from represenLaLlon Lo medlaLlon" (kanno, 2007, p. 231). As Lhe purpose of Lhe
noLaLlon ln ltessloo ls prlmarlly Lo lndlcaLe acLlons, raLher llke an lnsLrucLlon manual, lL ls
predomlnanLly prescrlpLlve noLaLlon LhaL ls used.
ln conLemporary muslc, lncongrulLy ls frequenLly found beLween Lhe meanlng of Lhe
slgns used ln prescrlpLlve noLaLlon and Lhe soundlng resulLs of Lhe acLlons lndlcaLed. As
kanno wrlLes, Lhere ls a crlLlcal gap beLween Lhe avallable sounds on Lhe one hand and Lhe
llmlLed vocabulary ln noLaLlon on Lhe oLher, and Lhe lnadequacy of noLaLlon ls hard Lo
lgnore" (lblJ., p. 234).

Conslderlng LhaL Lhls new aesLheLlc dlrecLlon, orlglnaLlng ln Lhe muslc
of Lachenmann ln Lhe laLe 60s, has only exlsLed for forLy years, we musL bear Seeger's
words ln mlnd: ...our noLaLlon ... ls, pot excelleoce, a maLLer of norms deLermlned by Lhe
vasL aggregaLe of pracLlce and codlfled by generaLlons of workers" (Seeger, 1938, p. 193).
8lghL now, we are ln Lhe mlddle of Lhls vasL aggregaLe of pracLlce", and Lhe performer ls an
lnvaluable Lool for Lhe composer ln reallzlng Lhe LexL and a llnk ln Lhe feedback process LhaL
enables Lhe lmprovemenL of noLaLlonal Lechnlques. ln Lhe presenL era, Lhe co-dependence
of performers and composers ls evldenL, we are ln an experlmenLal zone, whlch requlres
creaLlvlLy on boLh parLs. 1hus, monlLorlng Lhe ongolng performance pracLlces of performers
and composers allke ls fundamenLal for Lhe developmenL of noLaLlonal norms. Cne
consequence of Lhe dlscrepancles beLween dlfferenL noLaLlonal meLhods ls LhaL Lhe

ArLlcle

20

=8:.&% >. ltessloo, page 1 (1972), by Muslkverlage Pans Cerlg, kln 1980, asslgned Lo
8relLkopf & ParLel, Wlesbaden. used by klnd permlsslon.

performer of conLemporary muslc has had Lo become more speclallzed Lhan hlLherLo, by
bulldlng an exLenslve body of experlence ln performance pracLlce: each work may have lLs
own parLlcularlLles of sound and noLaLlon. ConsequenLly, some classlcally-Lralned
performers become allenaLed, percelvlng Lhe gap beLween Lhe olJ and Lhe oew muslc as
nearly lmposslble Lo brldge.

ArLlcle

21
rescrlpLlve noLaLlon ls noL as radlcal as one mlghL assume, as several prescrlpLlve
elemenLs such as naLural and arLlflclal harmonlcs, lnsLrucLlons for flngerlngs, bowlngs and
muLes, have been lnLegraLed ln Lhe descrlpLlve noLaLlon. rescrlpLlve noLaLlon also shares
LralLs wlLh Lhe LablaLure malnly used for freLLed sLrlng lnsLrumenLs and fluLes from Lhe
8enalssance era, as well as ln popular muslc Loday. 1he LablaLure shows llLerally where on
Lhe 'Lable' Lo puL your flngers Lo produce a noLe, and ls Lhus lnsLrumenL-speclflc:
Lachenmann bollJs a new cello and deslgns a map for navlgaLlng lL, so Lhls map cannoL be
LranslaLed Lo oLher lnsLrumenLs. Lachenmann has overcome Lhe llmlLaLlons of LablaLure ln
showlng duraLlons by slmply addlng llnes Lo Lhe Lones, lndlcaLlng Lhelr endlng polnL.
When l worked wlLh Lachenmann on ltessloo, he wanLed Lhe plece Lo be phrased qulLe
freely ln Lerms of rubaLo and agoglc accenLs, someLhlng he demonsLraLed by hls own playlng
of Schumann's 1toometel. Accordlng Lo hlm, every phrase should llve lLs own llfe, and Lhe
Llme allowed for each of Lhese small, unlque sounds Lo emerge, boLh ln Lerms of resonance
and physlcal execuLlon, was far more lmporLanL Lhan keeplng sLrlcL Llme. Lach celllsL should
Lhen, gulded by Lhls performance pracLlce, perform ltessloo adapLed Lo Lhelr lnsLrumenL,
body and Lhe acousLlc, someLhlng LhaL would presenL us wlLh genulnely dlfferenL
lnLerpreLaLlons. aradoxlcally, Lachenmann's concepLlon of Lhe dlsLlncL quallLles of each
slngle sound was crysLal-clear, leavlng llLLle freedom of lnLerpreLaLlon Lo Lhe performer. Cne
example ls Lhe perforaLed sound quallLy caused by verLlcal bowlng (see sLarL of llg. 2). 1o
produce Lhls gralny sound (every 'graln' should be heard), one has Lo sLarL wlLh a very
conLrolled and slow bow noL Loo close Lo Lhe brldge. ln splLe of Lhe score only offerlng
lnsLrucLlons on how Lo hold Lhe bow and Lhe dlrecLlon of Lhe bow, Lachenmann was
meLlculous abouL Lhe sound he requlred. 1he hlgh degree of Lachenmann's speclflclLy ln
sound deLalls surprlsed me, because Lhe prescrlpLlve noLaLlon he uses ls far from preclse ln
lLs demands for speclflc sound resulLs of acLlons, whereas Lhe Lempo and rhyLhm are
lndlcaLed ln concreLe and measurable ways. 1hus, Lhe score does noL provlde all Lhe
lnformaLlon necessary Lo perform ltessloo accordlng Lo whaL mlghL be called Lhe
Lachenmann school or LradlLlon. lrom Lhls we can deduce LhaL oral LradlLlons and
performance pracLlce have Lo be Laken lnLo conslderaLlon when sLudylng and performlng a
conLemporary work such as ltessloo, muslc LhaL lnLroduces a new aesLheLlc ln lnsLrumenLal
playlng. My experlence also relnforced my percepLlon LhaL Lhe deslgn of noLaLlonal language
for Lhls aesLheLlc dlrecLlon ls sLlll ln lLs lnfancy, slnce lL uses few symbols LhaL are unlversally
undersLood by performers.
11

rescrlpLlve noLaLlonal pracLlces can be seen as an lnvlLaLlon Lo Lhe muslclan Lo Lake an
lnLulLlve approach Lo performance: Lhe player sees Lhe lmage of whaL Lo do, does lL, and Lhe
acLlon or gesLure lmmedlaLely generaLes sonlc resulLs. A vlsceral relaLlonshlp forms beLween
noLaLlon and performance. 1hls dolng-aspecL of Lhe score augmenLs corporeal expresslon ln

11
A furLher challenge ls LhaL Lhe symbols are rarely conslsLenL from one composer (occaslonally, even work) Lo
anoLher. Powever, several of Lachenmann's prescrlpLlve feaLures, such as Lhe brldge clef, acLlon dynamlcs and
oLher graphlc symbols, have been wldely used by oLher composers. lL ls worLh menLlonlng LhaL ltessloo was
revlsed by Lachenmann and Lhe celllsL Lucas lels ln 2010, descrlblng Lhe dlfferenL sound quallLles and
Lechnlques ln greaLer deLall. AL cerLaln polnLs ldeas prevlously noLaLed graphlcally (prescrlpLlve) are now
noLaLed ln a more LradlLlonal manner (descrlpLlve), and Lhe enLlre plece has been formaLLed lnLo bars. 1he
experlmenLal aspecLs of Lhe prescrlpLlve noLaLlon are sLlll lnLacL, buL forLy years' developmenL of Lhe
performance pracLlce and recepLlon of ltessloo has revealed where more lnformaLlon was needed.

ArLlcle

22
performance, enabllng Lhe muslclan Lo produce gesLures LhaL could be sLudled frulLfully ln
Lhls new llghL.
!"#$$%&' 8* -%&), (' 8-, :%,-.&%, #*/ %)?(/8)%*-
1he obvlous slgnlflcance of gesLure ln ltessloo leads us Lo quesLlon whaL klnd of
correspondence Lhere ls beLween lLs muslcal noLaLlon and lnLended gesLures. 1he noLaLlon
mosL ofLen correlaLes dlrecLly Lo physlcal movemenL, for example ln long llnes polnLlng up
and down and a [agged llne lndlcaLlng Lhe gesLures of Lhe hand on Lhe flngerboard (see llg.
2). 1he dlscrepancy beLween Lhe noLaLed slgn and lLs meanlng necesslLaLes Lhe acLlon
lnherenL ln performance Lo glve meanlng Lo Lhe slgn. 1he absLracL (descrlpLlve)
represenLaLlon of sound ls replaced by corporeal (prescrlpLlve) acLlons and gesLures. 8aLher
Lhan havlng slgns for sounds, we see slgns for gesLures. Can we Lhen see Lhe gesLure as an
lnLegral componenL of Lhe work, llnklng performance and score?
1he execuLlon of Lhe physlcal gesLures ln Lhe score of ltessloo creaLes an lmporLanL and
unlque llnk beLween Lhe body of Lhe muslclan and Lhe body of Lhe lnsLrumenL. ln a sllghLly
dlfferenL conLexL, llscher-LlchLe wrlLes:
Lach characLer ls bound Lo Lhe speclflc corporeallLy of Lhe acLor who engenders lL. 1he
acLor's phenomenal body, Lhelr bodlly belng-ln-Lhe-world, consLlLuLes Lhe exlsLenLlal
ground for Lhe comlng lnLo belng of Lhe characLer. lL does noL exlsL beyond Lhe lndlvldual
body (llscher-LlchLe, 2008, p. 147).
12

1ransferrlng Lhls Lo a muslcal conLexL, Lhe body of a muslclan becomes an lnseparable parL
of Lhe muslc ln Lhe momenL of performance, Lhrough physlcal and lndeed almosL
choreographlc work. When gesLures are presenLed, Lhemselves, as muslcal maLerlal raLher
Lhan for Lhe prlmary purpose of produclng sounds, Lhls noL only requlres Lhe performer Lo
Lake a dlfferenL role buL also represenLs a break wlLh Lhe concepL of Lhe work as an absLracL
ob[ecL LhaL ls wrlLLen down ln Lhe form of a score and fully reallzed only Lhrough sound. 1he
corporeallLy of Lhe performer lnvlLes hlm or her Lo Lake a cenLral role ln lnLerpreLaLlon,
llnklng Lhe performer's own unlque body wlLh hls or her lnsLrumenL Lo produce a
performance LhaL cannoL be repllcaLed by anyone else.
1o lnvesLlgaLe furLher Lhe role of gesLures ln ltessloo, we mlghL conslder Lhem ln Lhe
llghL of Lhe Lheorles of Lhe phllosopher Clorglo Agamben. 1hese refer Lo ArlsLoLle's
caLegorles of ptoxls (acLlon) as an end wlLhouL means and poesls (producLlon) as means
Lowards an end, suggesLlng a Lhlrd caLegory: gesLure as means wlLhouL an end. 8y lsolaLlng
famlllar gesLures from Lhelr conLexL ln fllms, he opens up new meanlngs for Lhem:
1be qestote ls tbe exblbltloo of meJlollty. lt ls tbe ptocess of mokloq o meoos vlslble os
socb [auLhor's lLallcs]. lL allows Lhe emergence of Lhe belng-ln-a-medlum of human belngs
and Lhus lL opens Lhe eLhlcal dlmenslon for Lhem (Agamben, 2000, p. 37).
1he gesLures aL Lhe beglnnlng of resslon cover Lhe whole range of Lhe cello: Lhe enLlre
flngerboard ls Louched, symbollcally coverlng Lhe whole reperLolre of cello muslc. 1he lefL
hand runnlng up and down Lhe flngerboard ls no longer parL of a vlrLuoslc performance buL
[usL an arm movlng on Lhe way Lo fulfll an acLlon. Large gesLures are clearly
deconLexLuallzed as Lhey produce hardly any sound. We see Lhe rlLual aspecL ln classlcal
muslc and percelve echoes of Lhe exLravaganL gesLures ln a romanLlc concerLo. 1he sololsL

12
ln Lhe orlglnal Cerman, lo-Jet-welt-selo, clearly lnsplred by Peldegger.

ArLlcle

23
may end a phrase, for example, by llfLlng Lhe bow wlLh bravura, buL all we hear are some
scraLches or dlsLanL whlLe nolse, Lhe gesLure conLradlcLed by lLs soundlng resulL.


=8:.&% @. ltessloo, page 4, 1972 by Muslkverlage Pans Cerlg, kln 1980, asslgned Lo
8relLkopf & ParLel, Wlesbaden. used by klnd permlsslon.

Lachenmann deploys Lhe Lyplcal and famlllar movemenLs made by celllsLs for hundreds of
years, gesLures LhaL Lhus become a sllenL enacLmenL of hlsLory. WhaL characLerlzes gesLure
ls LhaL ln lL noLhlng ls belng produced or acLed, buL raLher someLhlng ls belng endured and
supporLed" (Agamben, 2000, p. 36). 1he quoLaLlon of classlcal muslc gesLures, lncludlng

ArLlcle

24
Lhose borderlng on cllches, and Lhe dlsplay of Lhelr conLenL and capaclLles, produces gesLure
as meoos wltboot eoJ. Lachenmann shows us Lhe slgnlflcance of each gesLure: we see lL
wlLh new eyes. Pavlng recognlsed LhaL Lhe rlLual ls now empLled of meanlng we can respond
Lo Lachenmann's deslre LhaL we should llsLen wlLh new ears. 1hrough Lhe process of
defamlllarlzaLlon, by lmporLlng allen and dlslocaLed sounds and gesLures lnLo Lhe concerL
hall aesLheLlc, Lachenmann problemaLlzes Lhe noLlon of beauLy and challenges hablLual
llsLenlng.
AlLhough ltessloo clearly explores Lhe poLenLlal of gesLures LhaL are boLh physlcal and
muslcal, Lachenmann does noL conslder hlmself an exponenL of lnsLrumenLal muslc LheaLre
where surreallsm and LheaLrlcal elemenLs can overshadow muslcal facLors, as for example ln
Maurlclo kagel's Motcb (1964), a Lennls game for Lwo celllsLs wlLh a percusslonlsL as umplre.
neverLheless, slnce ln Lhe preface Lo ltessloo he asks Lhe performer elLher Lo play by hearL
or Lo use a low muslc sLand so as Lo prlorlLlze Lhe vlsual aspecLs of Lhe performance, he
clearly consclously lncorporaLes gesLural aspecLs as composlLlonal maLerlal.
9%&+%$-.#2 ).2-8,-#?828-0
llscher-LlchLe lnLroduces Lhe Lerm petceptool moltlstoblllty Lo deflne and analyse Lhe
performaLlve fleld ln LheaLre and performance, a Lerm, ofLen assoclaLed wlLh vlslon sclence,
LhaL refers Lo amblguous percepLual experlences ln whlch Lhe vlewer lnLerpreLs Lhe same
lmage ln Lwo dlfferenL ways. 1hls can elLher happen sponLaneously, or Lhe percepLlon can
alLernaLe over Llme beLween sLable and unsLable sLaLes. llscher-LlchLe descrlbes percepLual
mulLlsLablllLy as Lhe consLanL LranslLlon beLween Lwo orders of percepLlon, presence and
represenLaLlon: . [Lhe] osclllaLlng focus beLween Lhe acLor's speclflc corporeallLy and Lhe
characLer porLrayed" (llscher-LlchLe, 2008, p. 147). 1he order of presence relaLes Lo
auLhenLlclLy and lmmedlacy whereas Lhe order of represenLaLlon ls used when Lhe acLor
porLrays a characLer by generaLlng a role ln Lhe flcLlve world.
1he ldea of represenLaLlon as presenLlng or reflecLlng sometbloq ls presenL ln much of
Lhe classlcal muslc LradlLlon where Lhe work (l.e. Lhe score) has a hlgh sLaLus and Lhe
wetktteoe-ldeal ls sLrong. lL also presupposes Lhe noLlon of arL lmlLaLlng llfe, llfe belng
prlmary and arL secondary. 1hlnklng of a performance of muslc ln Lhese Lerms, as Lhough
Lhe muslc were lmlLaLlng someLhlng, an essence or orlglnal, ls problemaLlc because, slnce
Lhere exlsLs no repllca ln performance, each process of embodlmenL dlffers.
13
neverLheless
Lhe work ls represenLed Lhrough lLs characLer. ln Lhe case of ltessloo Lhe flcLlve world
creaLed by Lachenmann ls LransmlLLed Lhrough Lhe performer's unfoldlng and recreaLlon of
Lhe LexL of Lhe score. llscher-LlchLe descrlbes Lhe 'presence' aspecL of Lhe performer's
represenLaLlon of a work as less predlcLable Lhan Lhe lnLenLlonal acLlng of a role: 8ased on
self-referenLlallLy, Lhe order of presence allows meanlngs Lo emerge over whlch Lhe
percelvlng sub[ecLs have no conLrol" (llscher-LlchLe, 2008, p. 130). As we have seen,
percepLual mulLlsLablllLy refers Lo Lhe way we percelve varlous degrees of embodlmenL, and
LhaL our percepLlon can 'change dlrecLlon' durlng Lhe very acL of percelvlng. 1he percelvlng
sub[ecLs remaln suspended beLween Lwo orders of percepLlon, caughL ln a sLaLe of 'beLwlxL
and beLween'. 1he percelvlng sub[ecLs flnd Lhemselves on Lhe Lhreshold whlch consLlLuLes
Lhe LranslLlon from one order Lo anoLher, Lhey experlence a llmlnal sLaLe" (lblJ., p. 148).

13
LxcepL of course ln recorded performances.

ArLlcle

23
Schechner descrlbes a slmllar 'ln-beLween' quallLy as ttoosltloool, suspended beLween
'my' behavlour and LhaL whlch l am clLlng or lmlLaLlng" (Schechner, quoLed ln Loxley, 2007,
p. 137). Pe lllusLraLes Lhls polnL wlLh Lhe example of Laurence Cllvler speaklng Lhe famous
words '1o be or noL Lo be' ln PamleL:
1he words belong, or don'L belong, equally Lo Shakespeare, PamleL, Cllvler . So Cllvler ls
noL PamleL, buL he ls also noL noL PamleL. 1he reverse ls also Lrue: ln Lhls producLlon of
Lhe play, PamleL ls noL Cllvler, buL he ls also noL noL Cllvler. WlLhln Lhls fleld or frame of
double negaLlvlLy cholce and vlrLuallLy remaln acLlvaLed (lblJ., p. 138).
1hls example of Lhe elemenLs ln play produclng percepLual mulLlsLablllLy lllusLraLes
complexlLy ln performance.
erformlng Lhe characLer of ltessloo, as glven ln Lachenmann's 'scrlpL', requlres
exLenslve exploraLlon of Lhe physlcal aspecLs of produclng sounds on a cello. 1he gesLures
requlred Lo execuLe Lhe acLlons encompass Lhe whole lnsLrumenL, brlnglng forward speclflc
processes of embodlmenL: crafLmanshlp-llke, LacLlle relaLlons beLween lnsLrumenL and
performer as well as all Lhe LaclL knowledge lnherenL ln pracLlce. Lach performer
lnLerpreLlng Lhe plece performs an lndlvldual and unlque ltessloo accordlng Lo hls or her
speclflc body and lnsLrumenL, dlsLlncLly dlfferenL desplLe Lhe seemlngly preclse score. 1he
work comes Lo llfe Lhrough Lhe dlverslLy of lndlvldual performances, buL aL Lhe same Llme
Lhe characLer of ltessloo ls always presenL and clearly recognlzable.
Schechner wrlLes abouL performances as experlmenLlng wlLh Lhe boundary beLween
'llfe' and 'arL'" (Schechner, quoLed ln Loxley, 2007, p.139), a llmlnal and fluld sLaLe close Lo
llscher-LlchLe's 'beLwlxL and beLween' where Lhe opposlLlon beLween Lhe dlfferenL sLaLes
lose lmporLance. Slmllarly, llscher-LlchLe dlscusses momenLs of LranslLlon beLween orders
of percepLlon LhaL can Lransform Lhose who experlence Lhem. Such llmlnal experlences are
based upon Lhe permanenL, reclprocal LranslLlons beLween sub[ecL and ob[ecL poslLlons"
(llscher-LlchLe, 2008, p.177). Accordlng Lo her, percelvers cannoL conLrol Lhls process, buL
become consclous LhaL Lhey acLlvely creaLe meanlng Lhrough emergence of Lhese
percepLual flucLuaLlons. She looks aL Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween meanlng and effecL ln Lhese
unpredlcLable modes of percepLlon, and analyses Lhe consLlLuLlon of meanlng as a
reclprocal process beLween performers and specLaLors, whlch she names Lhe ootopoletlc
feeJbock loop.
A4% #.-($(8%-8+ '%%/?#+6 2(($
llscher-LlchLe lnLroduces Lhe auLopoleLlc feedback loop as follows:
WhaLever Lhe acLors do ellclLs a response from Lhe specLaLors, whlch lmpacLs on Lhe
enLlre performance. ln Lhls sense, performances are generaLed and deLermlned by a self-
referenLlal and ever-changlng feedback loop. Pence, performance remalns unpredlcLable
and sponLaneous Lo a cerLaln degree (llscher-LlchLe, 2008, p. 38).
llscher-LlchLe lllusLraLes Lhls concepL wlLh deLalled accounLs of Lhe hlsLory of performance
and experlmenLal LheaLre slnce 1930. Several aspecLs of Lhe realm of LheaLre have no
obvlous relevance Lo muslc, noLably Lhe more dlrecL and even physlcal lnLeracLlon beLween
performers and specLaLors. 1he mosL slgnlflcanL dlscrepancy lles ln Lhe use of LexL and
human gesLure as carrlers of meanlng. 1heaLre refers Lo llfe, and whlle muslc cerLalnly can
refer Lo speclflc phenomena, generally speaklng, mosL lnsLrumenLal muslc has no such alm.
Lxcludlng slngers, muslclans also have a physlcal lnsLrumenL Lhrough whlch Lhey perform.

ArLlcle

26
erhaps lL ls noL enLlrely safe Lo draw dlrecL parallels beLween an acLor acLlng a role and a
muslclan playlng a score, buL Lhe processes of lnLernallzaLlon of a scrlpL, and performlng
Lhrough and wlLh Lhe body, are common LralLs. 1he larger perspecLlve of Lhe relaLlonshlp
beLween specLaLor, performer and (muslcal) LexL ls apparenL ln boLh flelds, and Lhe
reorganlzaLlon of Lhese elemenLs presenLs Lhe opporLunlLy Lo Lake new perspecLlves and
make new exploraLlons.
ln focuslng on performance as evenL, llscher-LlchLe challenges Lhe LradlLlonal
sub[ecL/ob[ecL relaLlonshlp beLween acLors and specLaLors, Lhus: 1he bodlly co-presence of
acLors and specLaLors enables and consLlLuLes performance," quoLlng Perrmann's deflnlLlon
of performance (Permann, 1981, p. 19), played by all for all" (llscher-LlchLe, 2008, p. 32).
1here ls no longer a gap beLween Lhe audlence and Lhe sLage, boLh parLles lnfluence each
oLher. 1he LradlLlonal specLaLor can have sLrong feellngs or empaLhy, buL observes Lhe work
from a dlsLance wlLhouL lnLerferlng (lblJ.). 1hls can be seen as analogous Lo Lhe behavlour of
Lhe LradlLlonal audlence aL a classlcal or conLemporary muslc concerL. WhaL ls golng on ls a
preLence: Lhey can llsLen, as lL were, from an lnLellecLual dlsLance, so LhaL Lhey do noL have
Lo engage, physlcally, wlLh whaL Lhey are hearlng or seelng.
ln whaL follows, l wlll look aL Lhe concepL of Lhe auLopoleLlc feedback loop Lhrough Lwo
examples from my experlence of performlng ltessloo. 1he flrsL evenL ls descrlbed from Lwo
perspecLlves: LhaL of Lhe performer and LhaL of a specLaLor. 1hls ls my own recollecLlon of
Lhe performance:
1hls performance of ltessloo Look place aL 7 am durlng a 24-hour-long fesLlval, 5pot, ln
Aarhus, uenmark, ln May 2008. 1he audlence had been up all nlghL llsLenlng Lo muslc and
gaLhered drowslly around me ln a close seml-clrcle, lylng on large plllows on Lhe floor.
erformlng aL Lhls Llme of day, wlLh a sleepy and lazy energy ln Lhe room, lnfluenced
ltessloo Lowards a slower, more Lranqull muslc Lo Lhe polnL where my endpln [splke]
suddenly sllpped from lLs poslLlon, so LhaL l had Lo use conslderable force and balance ln
order Lo keep Lhe lnsLrumenL sLeady. WhllsL sLrlvlng Lo keep Lhe cello up and Lhe muslc
golng, parLs of Lhe audlence appeared Lo wake up and sLralghLen Lhelr backs. 1helr
aLLlLude seemed Lo change, waLchlng and llsLenlng wlLh sharp concenLraLlon, as lf Lhe
ouLcome of my sLruggle depended on Lhem. l felL Lhey were sharlng Lhelr sLrengLh and
concenLraLlon wlLh me, and l had a sLrong noLlon of a dlrecL conLrlbuLlon of poslLlve
energy sLreamlng from Lhe specLaLors.
Cne member of Lhe audlence sald:
1hls was Lhe flrsL Llme l had saL Lhls close Lo a muslclan durlng a concerL, someLhlng LhaL
made Lhe performance go sLralghL ln: l felL almosL as Lhough l was Lhe one playlng . She
(Lhe performer) seemed llke she gave all she had, and she almosL mlsLreaLed Lhe cello!
uue Lo Lhe exclLemenL l sLarLed Lo sweaL. When Lhe endpln sLarLed Lo move . whaL
drama! llrsL l LhoughL she dld Lhls dellberaLely, buL suddenly, when l reallzed Lhls was noL
planned, Lhe exclLemenL grew. ln Lhls momenL, Lhe performance changed from belng a
good performance Lo becomlng a fanLasLlc performance, when lL appeared Lo be a flghL
for Lhe muslc, so Lo speak. l remember Lhlnklng: wlll she make lL?" 1o me lL seemed LhaL
she noL only foughL Lo hold on Lo Lhe lnsLrumenL, buL also Lo hold on Lo Lhe lnLenslLy of
Lhe muslc.
14

1hls example shows how Lhe unpredlcLable sllpplng of Lhe celllsL's endpln durlng Lhe
performance forced Lhe specLaLors Lo become alerL. 1he performer percelved Lhelr concern

14
Allan Cravgaard Madsen ln an e-mall Lo me, 22 March 2010. My LranslaLlon from uanlsh.

ArLlcle

27
and energy feedlng back Lo her vla Lhe auLopoleLlc loop and energlslng her, Lhls ln Lurn gave
Lhe specLaLors a feellng of meanlngful parLlclpaLlon. 1hls evenL, produclng percepLual
mulLlsLablllLy, accenLuaLed Lhe presence aspecL of Lhe performance, Lhe performer's
phenomenal and auLhenLlc beloq-lo-tbe-wotlJ wlLh her body and lnsLrumenL. 1he embodled
performance ln Lhls lnsLance overshadowed Lhe concepL of Lhe work and Lhe characLer of
ltessloo porLrayed by Lhe performer - accordlng Lo Lhe order of represenLaLlon wlLhln lLs
flcLlve world.
l wlll now descrlbe anoLher performance of ltessloo when a momenL occurred LhaL
changed my percepLlon of Lhe plece ln relaLlon Lo Lhe order of represenLaLlon. 1he
performance was glven for an audlence uneducaLed ln conLemporary muslc. A shorL way
lnLo ltessloo, when Lhe flrsL small, squeaky, unLradlLlonal sound occurred, a man bursL ouL
laughlng. ln one way, as a performer, l found Lhls a rellef: someone was aL lasL darlng Lo
express a sponLaneous response Lo Lhls sLrange and, Lo some, provocaLlve muslc LhaL
negaLes all convenLlonal playlng. Such sponLaneous reacLlons are very rare ln classlcal
concerL muslc. 1yplcal audlences wlLhln Lhls fleld are well behaved, and very seldom
respond sponLaneously as lndlvlduals or as a group Lo performances ln Lhe way LhaL one
mlghL expecL ln oLher genres such as [azz and popular muslc, someLhlng LhaL llscher-LlchLe
dlscusses.
13
1he laughLer also lnfluenced me ln anoLher way: l wondered lf Lhe specLaLor's
reacLlon mlghL lnclude an elemenL of embarrassmenL, or perhaps a feellng of lnsecurlLy as
Lo how Lo grasp Lhls muslc. leellng hls embarrassmenL for a momenL broughL me ouL of my
concenLraLed presence, so LhaL l momenLarlly vlewed myself from Lhe ouLslde, as Lhough l
played a sLrange characLer. 1he slLuaLlon produced a 8rechLlan vetftemJooqseffekt: an
effecL of allenaLlon, placlng Lhe acLor besldes raLher Lhan ln Lhe role. AllenaLlon generaLes a
dlalecLlc relaLlonshlp wlLhln Lhe role as Lhe acLor offers oplnlons concernlng Lhe dllemma
faclng Lhe characLer (Schechner, 2006). ln Lhls lnsLance l found myself scruLlnlzlng ltessloo
whlle performlng. lL was challenglng Lo resLore a sLaLe of presence, and l felL as Lhough l was
havlng a real-Llme dlalogue wlLh Lhe plece, prompLed by Lhe unarLlculaLed commenLary of
Lhe laughlng specLaLor.
16

9&%,,8(* #)$28'8%/ #*/ &%+(&/%/
ln a concerL ln whlch l had programmed works for cello and elecLronlcs, l chose Lo use
ampllflcaLlon, ln collaboraLlon wlLh Lhe composer and performer naLasha 8arreLL, slnce Lhls
ls permlLLed by Lachenmann.
17
ln ltessloo, sounds are produced uslng a varleLy of acLlons
from a number of places on Lhe cello. ln order Lo plck up Lhe very sofLesL sounds, we
aLLached Lwo uA mlcrophones Lo Lhe cello
18
: one on Lhe lower slde of Lhe brldge, a second
underneaLh Lhe flngerboard and a Lhlrd, whlch was a conLacL mlcrophone, underneaLh Lhe
Lallplece. normally one mlcrophone cenLred beLween Lhe f-holes near Lhe brldge would

13
1hls could be one of Lhe reasons LhaL Lhere ls llLLle research ln classlcal muslc on relaLlonshlps beLween
audlence and performers lllusLraLlng Lhe auLopoleLlc feedback loop.
16
A cenLral Lopos ln Lachenmann's aesLheLlc ls klooq-vetftemJooq (ln Lngllsh: defamlllarlzaLlon effecL), slmllar
Lo 8rechL's allenaLlon effecL, almlng aL quesLlonlng Lhe hablLual and self-evldenL by placlng famlllar elemenLs ln
unfamlllar conLexLs and vlce versa.
17
ln Lhe preface Lachenmann wrlLes: 1he cello may be elecLrlcally ampllfled oJ llb. Pe has slnce regreLLed
Lhls sLaLemenL, he Lold me ln lebruary 2010 ln Lhe course of a conversaLlon ln 8ergen.
18
Mlcrophone manufacLured by uA Mlcrophones, Allerd, uenmark.

ArLlcle

28
sufflce for ampllflcaLlon, because Lhls ls close enough Lo where Lhe sound ls produced ln
mosL classlcal muslc. 8arreLL sLudled Lhe score and pro[ecLed Lhe sound Lhrough four
loudspeakers surroundlng Lhe audlence. She lnLeracLed wlLh me as an equal duo parLner, ln
LruLh exerLlng even more lnfluence Lhan l dld on Lhe sound ouLpuL Lhrough Lhe speakers.
1hls ampllfled performance of ltessloo was radlcally dlfferenL from Lhe acousLlc verslon: Lhe
sound evenLs were magnlfled so LhaL we could hear every llLLle deLall lncludlng Lhe smallesL
nuances of colour LhaL would oLherwlse be percepLlble only by a llsLener close up Lo Lhe
celllsL. ltessloo became a dlfferenL plece ln Lhls performance because ampllflcaLlon changed
lLs sound aesLheLlcs, Lhe pro[ecLlon of sound creaLlng an arLlflclal sense of deLachmenL as
Lhe loudspeakers became, Lhemselves, soundlng lnsLrumenLs.
19
1he dlrecL relaLlonshlp
beLween Lhe gesLures and Lhe sounds, so cenLral for Lhls work, became dlsLorLed. 1hls
Lransposlng of sound from lnsLrumenL Lo loudspeaker remlnds us of Schaeffer's use of
elecLronlc medla Lo relnforce Lhe removal of sounds from Lhelr source ln moslpoe cooctte.
1he experlence of hearlng ltessloo as a sound recordlng only, wlLhouL lLs vlsual
aspecL, ls compleLely dlfferenL from wlLnesslng a llve performance. 1he curlous llsLener who
Lurns up Lhe volume ln an aLLempL Lo hear lLs almosL lnaudlble whlsperlng ls ln danger of
physlcal paln when Lhe sofL whlLe nolse ls vlolenLly lnLerrupLed by loud grlndlng sounds: for
Lhls reason lL could be descrlbed as belng unsulLable for Lhe Cu medlum.
20
Whlle ln some
ways ltessloo suffers when sound ls lsolaLed from lLs gesLures and Lhe mechanlcal source of
sound producLlon, Lhls can glve lL new conLenL and meanlng. 1he underLaklng Lo produce a
Cu of ltessloo ls sub[ecL here Lo Lhe words of WalLer 8en[amln: ln even Lhe mosL perfecL
reproducLlon, one Lhlng ls lacklng: Lhe here and now of Lhe work of arL - lLs unlque
exlsLence ln a parLlcular place" (8en[amln, 2008 p. 21). 1he Cu medlum has Lransformed Lhe
work lnLo a dlfferenL sLaLe. lL ls removed from Lhe lnsLrumenL, converLed lnLo a new formaL
and presenLed Lhrough a new medlum, loudspeakers or headphones. 1he change of
medlum magnlfles Lhe muslc on one level, as Lhe mlcrophones brlng Lhe smallesL of sounds
Lo our aLLenLlon. Mechanlzlng Lhe muslc ln Lhls way, however, has far-reachlng
consequences ln Lerms of whaL ls losL, whaL lasLs and whaL comes lnLo exlsLence, as lL
meLamorphoses lnLo someLhlng new. Maklng a Cu recordlng could be seen as a crlLlcal re-
readlng of Lhe work, whlch appears as a resulL ln an alLered sLaLe emphaslzlng parLlcular
elemenLs LhaL would be lmpercepLlble ln a llve performance. 1he llsLener may percelve LhaL
Lhe here and now" auLhenLlclLy Lo whlch 8en[amln refers, so dependenL on Lhe physlcallLy
of performance, has been losL when acLlon ls ampuLaLed and lLs correlaLlon wlLh sound
removed. 8egardless of whaL we galn from Lhe process or ouLpuL of recordlng, ltessloos
llve, performaLlve and vlsual aspecLs are paramounL slnce work and performance are
lrrevocably lnLerwoven.
Slnce lL was composed 41 years ago, ltessloo has been played and recorded so
frequenLly LhaL lL has become a classlc work.
21
lncreaslng knowledge among performers of

19
1ransferrlng Lhe sound ouLpuL from cello Lo speakers also polnLs Loward Lhe aesLheLlc of elecLronlcally
generaLed nolse muslc.
20
Lachenmann ls aware of Lhe vlsual aspecL: 1he ldea of energy remalns Lhe mosL lmporLanL Lhlng for me.
1haL's why my muslc ls someLlmes dlfflculL Lo undersLand when llsLened Lo on Cu wlLhouL havlng had Lhe
experlence of a llve performance" (PeaLhcoLe, 2010, p. 334).
21
1o my knowledge Lhere are eleven commerclal recordlngs of ltessloo (see Appendlx). ln addlLlon, Lhere
were Lhree vldeos of ltessloo performances avallable aL www.youLube.com on 17 !anuary 2012.

ArLlcle

29
Lhe oLher works of Lachenmann LhaL move ln Lhe same aesLheLlc dlrecLlon has alded Lhe
culLlvaLlon of lLs own performance pracLlce.
BCDE
1hls arLlcle has almed Lo lnvesLlgaLe ltessloo, flrsL by placlng lL ln a hlsLorlcal and
muslcologlcal conLexL, and Lhen by looklng aL aspecLs of noLaLlon, performaLlvlLy, acLlon,
gesLure, embodlmenL and ampllflcaLlon. ln addlLlon, my analysls of lLs noLaLlon of gesLures,
lnLerpreLaLlon of Lhe score and meeLlng wlLh Lhe composer have enabled me Lo perform
ltessloo as a conglomeraLe of all Lhese elemenLs.
AlLhough llscher-LlchLe's concepLs of percepLual mulLlsLablllLy and Lhe auLopoleLlc
feedback loop orlglnaLe ln Lhe fleld of LheaLre, l Lhlnk Lhey can be useful for sLudylng muslc
from Lhe perspecLlve of performance Lheory by explorlng Lhe dlfferenL meanlngs of and for,
and Lhe relaLlonshlps beLween Lhe performer, muslcal LexL, lnLerpreLaLlon, embodlmenL,
and lnsLrumenL. 1hey have Lhe poLenLlal for offerlng Lhe performer Lools for percelvlng and
acLlng consclously and lnLenLlonally when Lhey embody Lhe muslcal work, lnLerpreLlng lL
wlLhln a range of degrees of freedom. 1hey lllusLraLe posslble shlfLs of percepLlon as we
experlence a llve performance, performers and specLaLors allke, freelng us from LradlLlonal
hlerarchles and allowlng us Lo creaLe our own aesLheLlc experlence. AlLhough lL was Louched
upon only brlefly ln Lhls arLlcle, Agamben's gesLural Lheory opens up a new dlmenslon of
gesLure analysls ln whlch gesLures are separaLed from Lhelr conLexL. 1hls could prove a
frulLful dlrecLlon parLlcularly for Lhe sLudy and performance of conLemporary muslc. 1here
are several klnds of relaLlonshlp beLween performance and noLaLlon LhaL could be explored
furLher, for example Lhe wetktteoe ldeal versus approaches Lo Lhe score as LexL, scrlpL,
lnsLrucLlon manual or gulde.
My dlscovery of performance sLudles has been revelaLory Lo me as a performer. AL
lasL we have a perspecLlve LhaL ls congruenL wlLh Lhe performance pracLlce we share, a llnk
beLween Lhe creaLlve process of performlng and Lhe crlLlcal process of analyzlng
performances" (Schechner, 2006, p. 10). 1he mosL sLrlklng reallzaLlon for me, havlng gone
Lhrough Lhls process of sLudylng and performlng ltessloo, ls LhaL, conLrary Lo Lhe common
assumpLlon LhaL lL represenLs a radlcal break wlLh LradlLlon, lL appears Lo be a remarkably
ldlomaLlc work ln Lhe way lL LreaLs Lhe lnsLrumenL. 1he dlrecL, physlcal experlence of
Louchlng, holdlng, rubblng, sLrlklng and caresslng Lhe cello seems mosL naLural, and Lhe
acLlons appear Lo have been deslgned Lo produce sounds easlly. 1here are no 'exLended
Lechnlques', as Lhe sound emerglng from Lachenmann's new lnsLrumenLal pracLlce has
become Lhe sLrucLurlng maLerlal of composlLlon. A performaLlve elemenL as Lhe cenLral
composlLlonal parameLer, LhaL ls, Lhe performer's acLlons ln Lhe momenL of performance,
offers new posslblllLles of analysls as well as a psychologlcally dlfferenL approach Lo a
muslcal work. lL lncludes performers ln a respecLful manner and lnvlLes Lhem Lo venLure on
Lhelr own exploraLlon: Lo draw on Lhelr enLlre reperLolre of experlence and sklll and Lo
emboJy Lhe muslc from wlLhln, creaLlng a unlque performance.


ArLlcle

30
FG=GFGHBGI
Agamben, C. (2000). noLes on CesLure. ln Meoos wltboot oJs. Notes oo lolltlcs (Lrans.
vlncenzo 8lneLLl & Cesare Casarlno) (pp. 49-39). Mlnneapolls: unlverslLy of MlnnesoLa
ress.
Alberman, u. (2003). Abnormal playlng Lechnlques ln Lhe sLrlng quarLeLs of PelmuL
Lachenmann. cootempototy Moslc kevlew, 24(1), 39-31.
8en[amln, W. (2008). 1he work of arL ln Lhe age of lLs Lechnologlcal reproduclblllLy. ln 1be
wotk of Att lo tbe Aqe of lts 1ecbooloqlcol keptoJoclblllty ooJ Otbet wtltloqs oo
MeJlo. Cambrldge, MA, London: 1he 8elknap ress of Parvard unlverslLy ress.
8rendel, A. (2007). AlfteJ 8teoJel oo Moslc. London: !8 8ooks.
Cook, n. (2003). Muslc as erformance. ln M. ClayLon, 1. PerberL & 8. MlddleLon (Lds.), 1be
coltotol 5toJy of Moslc. A ctltlcol lottoJoctloo (pp. 204-214). London: 8ouLledge.
uunsby, !. (1993). letfotmloq Moslc. 5boteJ coocetos. Cxford: Cxford unlverslLy ress.
llscher-LlchLe, L. (2008). 1be 1toosfotmotlve lowet of letfotmooce (Lrans. Saskya lrls !aln).
Cxford: Cxford unlverslLy ress.
CodlovlLch, S. (1998). Moslcol letfotmooce. A lbllosopblcol 5toJy. London: 8ouLledge.
Coehr, L. (1992). 1be lmoqlooty Moseom of Moslcol wotks. Ao ssoy lo tbe lbllosopby of
Moslc. Cxford: Cxford unlverslLy ress.
Coehr, L. (1998). ConfllcLlng ldeals of erformance ln an lmperfecL racLlce. ln 1be Ooest fot
volce. Oo Moslc, lolltlcs, ooJ tbe llmlts of lbllosopby (pp. 132-173). Cxford: Cxford
unlverslLy ress.
Culdbrandsen, L. L. (2006). ModernlsL Composer and Mahler ConducLor: Changlng
ConcepLlons of erformaLlvlLy ln 8oulez. 5toJlo Moslcoloqlcol Notveqlco, J2, 140-168.
PeaLhcoLe, A. (2010). Sound sLrucLures, LransformaLlons, and broken maglc an lnLervlew
wlLh PelmuL Lachenmann. ln l. uellege & M. addlson (Lds.), cootempototy Moslc.
1beotetlcol ooJ lbllosopblcol letspectlves (pp. 331-348). AldershoL: AshgaLe.
Penze, P. W. (1983). ule eoqllscbe kotze. lo Atbeltstoqebocb 1978-1982. lrankfurL am
Maln: llscher verlag.
Perrmann, M. (1981). uber dle Aufgaben elnes LheaLerwlssenschafLllchen lnsLlLuLes. ln P.
kller (Ld.), 1beotetwlsseoscboft lm Jeotcbsptocblqeo koom (pp. 13-21). uarmsLadL:
WlssenschafLllge 8uchgesellschafL.
Podgklnson, 1. (1987). An lnLervlew wlLh lerre Schaeffer - ploneer of Muslque ConcreLe.
kek Ooottetly Moqozloe, 2(1). 8eLrleved 17 !anuary,

2012, from
hLLp://www.Llmhodgklnson.co.uk/schaeffer.pdf
!ahn, P. . (1988). resslon, Llnlge 8emerkungen zur komposlLlon PelmuL Lachenmanns und
zu den lnLerpreLaLlonsLechnlschen 8edlngungen. Moslk-koozepte, 61/62, 40-46.
kanno, M. (2007). rescrlpLlve noLaLlon: LlmlLs and challenges. cootempototy Moslc kevlew,
26(2), 231-234.
klvy, . (1993). Aotbeotlcltles. lbllosopblcol keflectloos oo Moslcol letfotmooce. Cornell
unlverslLy ress.
kvalbeln, A. (2003). l oq meJ moslkkeo. Cslo: ueL norske SamlageL.
Lachenmann, P. (1969). ltessloo. Wlesbaden: 8relLkopf & ParLel.
Lachenmann, P. (1970). Lachenmann: resslon. 8eLrleved 17 !anuary

2012 from
hLLp://www.brelLkopf.com/feaLure/werk/1129.

ArLlcle

31
Lachenmann, P. (1980). 1he '8eauLlful' ln Muslc 1oday. 1empo, New 5etles, 1J5, 20-24.
Lachenmann, P. (1996). Moslk ols exlsteotlelle tfobtooq. 5cbtlfteo 1966 - 1995. !osef
Pausler (Ld.). Malnz: 8relLkopf und ParLel.
Lachenmann, P. (2008). Muslque concreLe lnsLrumenLale. PelmuL Lachenmann ln
conversaLlon wlLh Cene Coleman, Monday, 7 Aprll 2008, SloughL loundaLlon and
lrvlne AudlLorlum". 8eLrleved 17 !anuary,

2012, from
hLLp://sloughL.org/conLenL/11401/
Loxley, !. (2007). erformaLlvlLy and erformance 1heory. ln letfotmotlvlty (pp. 139-166).
London: 8ouLledge.
Mosh, u. (2006). uas unberuhrLe beruhren - Anmerkungen zur lnLerpreLaLlon von PelmuL
Lachenmanns Werken ltessloo und Alleqto sosteooto. ln !. . Plekel (Ld.), Moslk
loszeolett. ltoseototloo ooJ vetmlttlooq zeltqeoosslscbet Moslk beote.
verffenLllchungen des lnsLlLuLs fur neue Muslk und Muslkerzlehung uarmsLadL, 46,
23-46. Malnz: SchoLL.
ace, l. (1998). oslLlve or negaLlve 1. 1be Moslcol 1lmes, 1J9 (1839), 9-17.
Schechner, 8. (2006). erformaLlvlLy. ln letfotmooce 5toJles. Ao lottoJoctloo (pp. 123-169.)
London: 8ouLledge.
Seeger, C. (1938). rescrlpLlve and descrlpLlve muslc-wrlLlng. 1be Moslc Ooottetly, 44(2),
184-193.
SLravlnsky, l. (1970). loetlcs of Moslc lo tbe lotm of 5lx lessoos. Cambrldge, MA: Parvard
unlverslLy ress.
1aruskln, 8. (1993). 1ext ooJ Act. ssoys oo Moslc ooJ letfotmooce. Cxford, new ?ork:
Cxford unlverslLy ress.

AEHJE CFHKHL ls a celllsL acLlve ln Lhe fleld of conLemporary and experlmenLal muslc. AfLer
sLudles ln Cslo, London and aL lndlana unlverslLy as a lulbrlghL 8esearch lellow, she held
Lhe poslLlon as a co-prlnclpal celllsL ln Lhe SLavanger Symphony CrchesLra for flve years.
Crnlng ls currenLly a hu sLudenL aL Lhe norweglan Academy of Muslc.
E99GHDKM; FGBCFDKHLI C= !4566789
8ach, M. (1992). cpo 999 102-2.
8ach, M. (1990). L A8L L8Z 1003.
CaraL 8. (1998). C8AML: C80898.
uevoLo, M. (2008). 8lue ArL, ue 8ach al ruldo.
lels, L. (1993). MonLalgne Auvldls MC 782073.
Crlmmer, W. (1994). Col legno WWL 31863.
kasper, M.M. (2009). Lnsemble Modern Medlen, LMCu-006.
koolsLra, 1. (1993). ALLacca 8abel 9369-1.
Lesslng, W. (2008). WL8 6682 2.
SLrauch, . (1992). Accord 202082.
1aube, W. (1990). L A8L L8Z 1003.